PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education is hosting the National Conference on College Men, a response to the troubling status of men in postsecondary education, today through May 22 at Huntsman Hall, 38th and Walnut streets on Penn’s campus.

“Within the past five years, national trends have shown declining enrollments and gender disparities in graduation rates among male student populations, with inequities being most troubling among African-American and Latino male undergraduates,” Shaun Harper, assistant professor in Penn GSE, said. “This conference will help address these disparities that disfavor men and generate innovative and necessary strategies for improving male engagement and achievement.”

More than 150 attendees are expected. Topics include recruitment and retention, as well as men’s unique needs at community colleges.

The program is sponsored by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and the American College Personnel Association.

“The 2009 Conference on College Men is an exciting opportunity for educators to convene, collaborate and exchange ideas on how to meet the developmental needs of the men on their campuses,” Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, NAPSA’s executive director, said.